2018-06-20 Wed

From 5th to 7th July, an auction house named Ulrich Felzmann from Duesseldorf, Germany is going to organize its next public stamp and postal history auction. German stamps, world stamps, international airmail and zeppelin mail will be offered for sale.

One of the highlights is a modern German stamp which was not officially issued. The 110-pfennig+50pf semipostal stamp featuring Audrey Hepburn was supposed to be a part of a five-stamp semipostal set that was issued on 11th October 2001. The five stamps from the officially released set depicted Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo and Jean Gabin, and a film reel. Surtax collected through the sale of this set was donated to the Federal Association of Volunteer Welfare Work.

Audrey Hepburn’s family members did not allow the Postal Department to use the proposed image because it features her with a cigarette holder in her mouth. The printed stamps were withdrawn from the set even before the release, however, some of them reached the public. A single mint pane of 10 was auctioned by Hepburn estate in 2010, the proceeds of which was given to charity.

The Felzmann auction is offering this unissued stamp, used on a piece and postmarked 14.10.03 (Oct. 14, 2003) from the Berlin-area Briefzentrum 12. The same stamp has a listed market value of €100,000.

The stamp is offered with an opening bid of €50,000.

Image Courtesy: Ulrich Felzmann